From factory worker to investment banker in 6 years

I just signed my offer letter for an IB Analyst position in a bulge bracket bank, but when I started university in 2008, I was a depressed failure in my mid-20s with debt twice the size of my annual income, little social skills, and most of my work experience consisting of warehouse and factory jobs very far from any dream I ever held dear.

I was averaging three emotional breakdowns per year, and working as an unlicensed welder for $14 per hour when I got accepted to a local university as a mature student. The university did not even let me enroll in their business program, because at that point I have been out of school for 8 years, and my high-school transcript showed that I only scored 50% in Calculus on my third attempt and finished with mid 60s overall. They put me in a public administration program instead, but that was only the second time I refused to accept my fate.

Six years and one month later, after losing count on how many times I refused to fuck off and die, a business degree in hand, and two years in the middle office on the buy side, I killed three rounds of interviews and got my offer. Why now? Why at my age? Well, almost everyone wrote me off. I wrote myself off. But, at a critical moment, while staring into the abyss, I just refused to go. Because, and you know who you are, fuck you. That’s why!

No, this is not the whole story. I skipped the whole middle. I’m not sure if anyone would be interested in it. I may fall flat on my face and burn out after I start the new job next month, but, at least then I’ll be able to say that I finally found my limit. Then again, I never give myself enough credit.